April is Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month

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By Erin Hall 

Contributor 

Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness will be promoted in April by Hopeful Horizons, the area’s child advocacy, domestic violence and rape crisis center. 

To honor this theme, Hopeful Horizons will host in-person and virtual activities throughout April.

Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month is the nationally designated month to acknowledge the importance of communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect. April gives Hopeful Horizons and others the opportunity to focus on all the strategies used to protect children, strengthen families and raise awareness to stop child abuse and neglect from occurring.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is a campaign to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it. The campaign theme, “I Ask,” champions the message that asking for consent is a healthy, normal and necessary part of everyday interactions.

“Child abuse and sexual assault are prevalent in our community year-round, but the pandemic has shed a different light on these issues, making it even more important for us to raise awareness this April,” said Kristin Dubrowski, CEO of the local shelter. “We want to ensure that survivors’ voices are heard, and that the community recognizes that we all have a role to play in preventing child abuse and sexual assault.”

Child Abuse Prevention Month

Throughout the Month, pinwheels will be displayed at Hopeful Horizons’ offices in Beaufort, Bluffton and Walterboro. Pinwheels are the symbol of child abuse prevention, and are meant to remind us of the carefree spirit of children and symbolize the happy, healthy childhoods that all children should have. This is in partnership with CAPA, the Child Abuse Prevention Association, as part of the Abuse Prevention Coalition. Colleton residents are encouraged to purchase pinwheels and display them in your yard to remember those victims of child abuse.

Additionally, Walterboro City Council will present a proclamation for Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This proclamation was read and adopted during the council’s regularly scheduled virtual meeting on April 6th. 

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Throughout the month of April, we are committed to doing the following activities to honor survivors of sexual assault, and to educate our residents on how to prevent sexual assault. 

Flags recognizing victims of sexual violence will be placed at the Colleton County Courthouse;

30 Salons in 30 Days: Hopeful Horizons’ Prevention and Outreach Team will visit 30 Nail Salons in the five-county service area during the 30 days of April and hand deliver Hopeful Horizons information about sexual assault and the services available to survivors;

On Thursday, April 22nd at 7:00 p.m., we will host a virtual “Take Back The Night” event. This is being held via Zoom with messages from survivors of sexual violence. Those agencies and elected leaders who are participating include Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone and Prosecutor Hunter Swanson, Senator Margie Bright Matthews and Representative Shannon Erickson. “Take Back the Night” is an annual awareness event to give voice to survivors of sexual assault. The event is free and open to the public. We invite survivors to share their stories or simply share that they are a survivor.

If you are a survivor and wish to speak or submit comments, please contact Rose Ewing at ewingr@hopefulhorizons.org. 

To sign up for this free event, visit Hopeful Horizons’ Facebook page and click on events.

On Wednesday, April 28th, we are hosting Denim Day in the City of Walterboro. Walterboro Mayor Bill Young and Police Chief Wade Marvin will declare April 28th as Denim Day in the city. The Denim Day campaign began after a rape conviction in Italy was overturned because the justices felt that the rape victim helped to remove her jeans for her rapist, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. 

Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against destructive attitudes about sexual harassment, abuse, assault and rape. Denim Day encourages community members, elected officials, businesses and students to wear jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against sexual violence.

On Wednesday, April 28th, we are having an MCAS “Bump, Set and Spike” Volleyball Tournament. Hopeful Horizons will co-sponsor the MCAS’ volleyball tournament, where we are recognizing sexual violence as an issue that can be prevented. The event will take place on April 28th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Afterburners. The event is open to active-duty military.

On Friday, April 30, we are hosting the Beaufort Naval Hospital’s SAAM Kickball Tournament. Hopeful Horizons will co-sponsor the Naval Hospital’s kickball tournament, recognizing sexual violence as an issue that can be prevented. The event will take place on April 30th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is open to active-duty military.

Hopeful Horizons is a children’s advocacy, domestic violence and rape crisis center that works to create safer communities by changing the culture of violence and offering a path to healing. The organization provides safety, hope and healing to survivors through evidence-based practices, outreach, prevention and education. 

Hopeful Horizons serves Beaufort, Allendale Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. For more information on the mission and vision of Hopeful Horizons, visit www.hopefulhorizons.org.